Bridget Williams Books: 132 books

‘Our migration policy impacts on New Zealand citizens, on recent immigrants and on people who are never permitted to set foot on this land. It creates prosperity for some and hardship for others.’ Debates over immigration are heating up with grave political consequences. Fair Borders draws...

For European refugees arriving in the 1930s, New Zealand was in many ways a haven. It wasn't all easy: they came from a continent rich in culture and history to a small isolated country with little social diversity. The immigrants found prejudice and suspicion as well as a place they could one day call...

Did the entire New Zealand land mass sink beneath the waves 23 million years ago? Many biologists reject the idea and insist that our native terrestrial fauna can be explained only by the continuous existence of land. But many geologists are now asserting that there is no longer any convincing...

The idea of social investment has obvious intuitive appeal. But is it robust? Is it built on sound philosophical principles and secure analytical foundations? Will it deliver better outcomes? For almost a decade, the idea of social investment has been a major focus of New Zealand policy-making...

W.H. Oliver, a central figure in New Zealand’s intellectual landscape, reflects on the decades of his own life and the history that has shaped him.The first editor of The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography and the author of The Story of New Zealand, Oliver tells of his Cornish upbringing, the influences...

The celebrated digital magazine e-Tangata is home to some of the most incisive and profound commentary on life in New Zealand. Māori, Pasifika and Pākehā writers grapple with topics that range from politics and social issues to history and popular culture. The best of these are collected together here into this BWB Text by the magazine’s editors, Tapu Misa and Gary Wilson.

Who said what to whom when the Treaty was negotiated - and what lay behind subsequent misunderstandings about its wording?In this extract from her bestselling book The Treaty of Waitangi, Claudia Orange reports in detail on the dramatic events that led to the signing of the Treaty on 6 February 1940.

A large and peaceful pro-independence march along Beach Road in Apia, Samoa. Amidst panic and confusion, New Zealand police open fire with rifles and a machine-gun, killing nine people and wounding fifty. In this BWB Text, Michael Field describes what happened on Black Saturday, 28 December 1929, a day that is largely forgotten in New Zealand history but is vividly recalled in Samoa.

Migration is at historically high levels and more than a quarter of the New Zealand population was born overseas. Yet immigration remains a deeply contentious issue, with the debate more often shaped by emotion than evidence. Julie Fry and Peter Wilson have developed a new framework that broadens...

Back from the Brink is a history of New Zealand policy on nuclear power and the growth of the anti-nuclear movement, culminating in the 1984 Labour Government's 'No Nukes' policy.Kevin Clements, a sociology lecturer and peace activist, provides a thorough, meticulously researched examination of the implications...

The settlement of iwi claims under the Treaty of Waitangi has drawn international attention, as other nations seek ways to build new relationships between indigenous peoples and the state.Here leading scholars consider the impact of Treaty settlements on the management and ownership of key resources...

In The Quiet Revolution, leading political commentator Colin James analyses New Zealand's market-based reforms of the 1980s as they are happening. Writing a first draft of history, he examines how the 'quiet revolution' is seen alternately as a betrayal, a dangerous experiment and a liberation.Combining...

We are no longer like our ancestors. We no longer depend on our skills as foragers, gatherers, scavengers, hunters and fishers for food. We are only part-time food raisers at best. . . Our biology, on the other hand, has changed far less. Now there is a mismatch between who we are and what we eat....

‘The world beyond the thought horizon is as vast as the universe, and probing it is the stuff of dreams, imaginative thinking and new technologies.’The gap between rapid scientific progress and public understanding faces unprecedented challenges. Leading research scientist Mike Berridge explores...